Remnant
by Crimson Skies
Summary: If power was self serving, and wisdom balanced the needs of all, then courage would demand the holder sacrifice all. Zelda knew this. Link learned this. Now they both have to come to terms. TwiPri. SPOILERS.


**Disclaimer – I don't own LoZ Twilight Princess**

**Remnant**

**By Crimson Skies**

**Prologue**

Zelda smiled softly as she looked out over the grand gardens of the castle. Beyond the high walls stretched out the whole of Hyrule. Under the setting sun it was bathed in twilight. Times like these, she almost thought she could feel the presence of her darker counterpart. She wondered if Midna would lean over her balcony just as Zelda did now, hoping for a glimpse of the light. And maybe, listen for the fading howl of a wolf. Her smile faded.

Midna, the twilight princess who had learned to love the world of light as she did the twilight was out of reach. Zelda missed her. Midna was, perhaps, one of the only people who knew the deepest reaches of Zelda's heart. An understanding lay between the two, born of the sacrifices and sorrows shared between them. She was gone. Now more than ever Zelda wished she could speak to the other princess, ask her advice.

Even so, Zelda understood that Midna had done what she had to. Only Midna, who cared for both worlds, could have done it. Along her journey she had lost the underlying resentment many Twili felt for the world of light. Because she loved each of the realms she could not stand the thought of conflict between them, or that one could cause the destruction of the other. So she had destroyed the link between them. She was the only one who could have done it as the true ruler of the twilight realm, and she could not trust any who came after her to possess the love required for the sacrifice.

Zelda brushed the tears from her eyes impatiently. There could be no tears for her now. She had thought her sorrows through, but she had been mistaken. Her hand ached dully. She glared resentfully at the golden mark. It was her piece of the sacred Triforce, Wisdom. There was a price to pay for wielding such a power. It altered one's very nature. Zelda knew. With the knowledge she had she was able to see possible paths stretched out before her and the consequences of each. She had known, more or less, what would become of her kingdom when she had surrendered to Zant. And she had done it anyway, knowing she had to.

Zelda was not omniscient. Wisdom did not give her knowledge, it only allowed her to clearly see and use the knowledge she had. It was truly a double edged sword, as were the other pieces of the triforce. They _demanded_ to be used. Zelda could never be carefree. She could never be selfish and do what she wished, the consequences be damned. She _had_ to act on the wisdom she possessed. There was something sad in that.

The goddess's power was not meant for humans. Would Ganondorf have been so consumed with the need to dominate everything if he had not been given the power to do so? Zelda had not doubt that the power the man possessed would not let him rest content with what he had. She pitied him for that, but he would not have had the Triforce of Power if he was not suited for it.

And of course there was Courage. It was, perhaps, the most dangerous to the one who possessed it, outstripping Power and Wisdom by far. Courage was a strange thing. It did not take away fear or horror. Real courage was pursuing the course of action one believed to be right despite the consequences. If power was self-serving and wisdom balanced the needs of all, then courage would demand the holder sacrifice all for their beliefs. In the case of someone naturally inclined to help others, it would strip them of everything they had in order to save everyone else.

There were whispers flying through Hyrule of a swordsman clad in green who preformed incredible acts of bravery and prowess. A woman spoke of him saving her from beasts on the river. The gossips on the corner talked of him how he saved the Zora boy, protecting him on a perilous journey for healing from the shaman of Kakariko. And a small group who met in the backroom of a bar discussed among themselves how problems seemed to solve themselves with him around, though really actually saw him very little. Zelda knew of all this. And she also knew that the true acts of heroism had happened behind the scenes. A truly great quest had been completed under the noses of all of Hyrule. Over time the population would put the pieces together, but Zelda thought by then the hero would have carefully faded back into obscurity. A truly fleeting hero he was in the minds of those he saved.

The pieces of the Triforce only went to those who they were compatible with. Link would have done it anyway. He would have gone on a quest to save Hyrule with or without Courage as it was his personality. The piece just took away the ultimate choice and that was what made it so awful thought some would argue that there was no difference, she knew.

Midna had witness it all, everything Link had been willing to sacrifice for his world. It changed something in her, shifted her motives. She had set out to use him and in the end would do everything in her power to keep him safe. Zelda wondered if Midna had even come to love the hero. Somehow she knew it to be true. And then Midna had given it up.

Zelda snorted at the way her thoughts kept circling back. She had not even noticed the sun had finished setting. Already the stars were bright in the darkened sky. Stepping away from the balcony, she smoothed the wrinkles in the front her black dress of mourning. Earlier that day they had finally given her father the proper burial that had been neglected in the days after the kingdom had been overtaken. She had thought her days of crying were over, but tears still threatened.

A shuffling noise made her jump and whirl toward the door. Something moved in the shadows. She peered into the darkness, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever lurked their. A soft whine reached her ears. It was familiar. Then a horrible suspicion hit her. She reached her hand out toward the shadow.

"It's alright. Come on out," she said softly, knowing how sound often carried in this part of the castle.

A massive wolf padded out into the light. The torchlight made its sharp blue eyes glint. It was oddly colored with strange markings. And it was wearing an earring. Wolves didn't wear earrings. Of course, Zelda knew this wolf, and a true wolf it was not. Frowning, she kneeled on the stone balcony and took the wolf's head between her hands. She looked into his eyes. They were lost, forlorn. For the first time that evening tears escaped her. They streamed down her face and she could not stop them.

Abandoning her dignity, she flung her arms around him and buried her face in the stiff fur. He tensed immediately. She wondered how it must seem to him, the distraught princess of Hyrule clinging to him and crying like she was. And he was here no doubt in need of help.

"Oh Link, what has happened to you?" she whispered. His sharp ears caught the question. Something must have eased within him as he relaxed if only just a little.

Link was once again trapped in wolf form. Zelda did not know how it had come to be. How it could be undone only Midna knew.

**To be continued…**

I've gone and done it again. I've started another story. It couldn't be helped. I finished Twilight Princess and the 'what ifs' started. And this idea persisted until I gave in and wrote it down. As a warning, updates will be irregular as they always are with me. There's possible LinkxMidna and LinkxZelda but nothing's clear yet. I'm writing this story off of inspiration so we'll just see how it plays out.


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